The Latest: ICC has no reservations about rain at World Cup

LONDON — The Latest on Day 13 of the Cricket World Cup (all times local):

7:50 p.m.

Bristol already has an unwanted record as a Cricket World Cup venue after rain forced a second game to be abandoned without a ball bowled.

Cricket fans and critics have questioned why the games aren't being shifted to other days rather than teams being forced to share points.

"We put men on the moon so why can't we have a reserve day?" Bangladesh coach Steve Rhodes said half-jokingly.

But the International Cricket Council has dismissed the idea of having reserve days for the 45 games in the group stage, saying it would significantly extend the length of an already lengthy tournament and would be logistically difficult for broadcasters and venue managers.

ICC chief executive David Richardson issued a statement in the wake of the Sri Lanka-Bangladesh washout on Tuesday saying there was little organizers could do amid the "extremely unseasonable weather."

"It would impact pitch preparation, team recovery and travel days, accommodation and venue availability, tournament staffing, volunteer and match officials availability, broadcast logistics and very importantly the spectators who in some instances have travelled hours to be at the game," Richardson said. "There is also no guarantee that the reserve day would be free from rain either."

Sri Lanka has had two games washed out — against Pakistan and Bangladesh in Bristol — and its win over Afghanistan in Cardiff was interrupted by rain.

South Africa and West Indies had to split the points after only 7.3 overs were possible because of rain in Southampton on Monday.

Richardson said some areas of England had experienced more than double the average monthly rainfall for June in the last couple of days, a vast change from last year when only a fraction of an inch was recorded in June.

"When a match is affected by weather conditions, the venue team works closely with match officials and ground staff to ensure that we have the best possible opportunity to play cricket," he said, "even if it is a reduced overs game."

Five-time champion Australia is set to play Pakistan in Taunton on Wednesday.

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3:30 p.m.

There have been more short balls bowled at this Cricket World Cup so far than in the previous three.

A third of the way into the 48-match event, 44.8% of deliveries by seamers have been short, the International Cricket Council says.

In the previous three World Cups, the percentages were 37, 37.3, and 31.9.

The team doing it the most was not surprisingly the pacer-filled West Indies, with 52.5%. England was second with 48.7% and Pakistan next on 47.7%.

They have all played three matches so far: West Indies and Pakistan have won once, and England twice.

While short-pitched deliveries have been successful in breaking partnerships, they have been expensive.

A wicket has been taken every 21 short balls, compared with 33 length balls, and 35 back-of-a-length balls.

But bouncers have also conceded 8.58 runs per over, length balls have gone for 5.03, and back of a length balls 5.08.

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2:30 p.m.

Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed doesn't think he'll need to follow India skipper Virat Kohli's lead and urge his team's supporters to stop booing Australia players Steve Smith or David Warner during the World Cup game at Taunton on Wednesday.

"I don't think Pakistani people are doing like that," Sarfaraz said. "Pakistan people love cricket and they love (to) support and they love the players."

The war of words may have already started ahead of Sunday's India vs Pakistan game in Manchester.

Kohli received plenty of accolades for intervening at the Oval in London on Sunday when the pro-India crowd relentlessly booed Smith, who along with Warner was banned for 12 months following a ball-tampering scandal in South Africa last year.

Crowds in England have booed Smith and Warner in all of Australia's warmup games and in the World Cup group games against Afghanistan in Bristol and West Indies in Nottingham.

The defending champion Australians say Smith and Warner were expecting a hostile reception, and have no intention of reacting.

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2 p.m.

The Bangladesh-Sri Lanka match in Bristol has been abandoned without a ball being bowled.

Rain delayed the toss before the scheduled start at 10:30 a.m. local time, and it was still raining when the umpires walked out to inspect the covered pitch just before 2 p.m.

It's the second match abandoned at this Cricket World Cup, an unwanted tournament record.

The first was also in Bristol, last Friday, Sri Lanka vs. Pakistan.

It's also the second consecutive washout, after South Africa-West Indies went only 7.3 overs on Monday in Southampton.

The weather over England is poor for the rest of this week, and chances are high that several matches will be affected by rain.

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12:30 p.m.

Sri Lanka Cricket has tweeted that Lasith Malinga will return home after the death of his mother-in-law, Kanthi Perera, in Colombo.

The fast bowler is due to leave England after the scheduled game against Bangladesh, which has yet to start because of rain in Bristol.

Her funeral is on Thursday, and SLC expect him to rejoin the team before its next Cricket World Cup match on Saturday against Australia at the Oval.

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12:20 p.m.

Scheduled pitch inspections in Bristol at 10:30 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. were both postponed because of rain.

The prospect of any play between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka looks increasingly unlikely.

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12:15 p.m.

Australia allrounder Marcus Stoinis has been ruled out of the game against Pakistan on Wednesday in Taunton because of a side strain, and Mitchell Marsh is coming to the Cricket World Cup as cover.

Stoinis picked up the injury in the loss to India on Sunday at the Oval. He claimed two wickets, notably a brilliant caught and bowled against Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and earned Virat Kohli's, caught in the deep. In Australia's chase, he was out for a second-ball duck.

Stoinis hasn't been replaced permanently in Australia's 15-man squad.

Marsh was due to arrive in England at the end of the week as part of an Australia A tour of the counties, building up to the Ashes.

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10 a.m.

Light rain has delayed the toss for the Bangladesh-Sri Lanka match in Bristol, where it has been raining since Monday.

The umpires will inspect the pitch, which is covered, and the soaked outfield at 10:30 a.m.

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9:10 a.m.

If weather permits, Bangladesh will seek a first Cricket World Cup win over Sri Lanka at Bristol County Ground.

The forecast is for light rain all day. Bristol was the site of the tournament's first washout last Friday, also involving Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka has won all three of these previous matchups in tournament history and, on average, beats Bangladesh in six out of every seven matches.

But Sri Lanka is without fast bowler Nuwan Pradeep, who dislocated a finger in his right bowling hand after he was hit by a ball in net practice on Sunday. He is expected to miss only this game. Pradeep was voted player of the match in the win against Afghanistan and is the team's leading wicket-taker at this World Cup.

Sri Lanka still has Lasith Malinga slinging deliveries and, after claiming three wickets against the Afghans, he's among the top five wicket-takers in World Cup history. He has 46, three behind countryman Chaminda Vaas.

Bangladesh is concerned about star allrounder Shakib Al Hasan, who hurt his quadriceps on Saturday while scoring a century against England, and didn't practice on Monday.

Bangladesh left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman is set to play his 50th ODI. He has 11 wickets in seven matches against Sri Lanka.

Both teams have one win from three matches at the World Cup.

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